Are your hair strands dropping normally or have been struck by a misfortune called- Shock loss!

Hair transplantation must be an inevitable solution to your baldness but it has got consequences of its own. One of the points in question which has piped up is the loss of healthy hair from the site of transplantation which is an obvious reason for your concern. Though in most of the cases the hair grows back in a fixed time span following the loss, it is better to be well acquainted with the terminologies which are a reason for your worries.

Discriminating shock loss from normal shedding.

There is normal falling out of hair after transplantation but the hair starts to grow back ½ inch every month after a week and you can actually make that out. On the other hand when it comes to shock loss, the transplanted hair remains impervious, instead, the healthy hair starts dropping at an alarming rate. It can also occur if the donor's hair started miniaturizing before transplant.

During FUE, hair is removed from the donor area using pneumatic pressure. A follicular unit transplant using the strip technique is less likely to cause shock loss in the donor area. But, if the surgeon attempts to harvest a large number of grafts at a single time and then doesn’t close the strip correctly, permanent hair loss can occur in the area. In the case of the recipient, stress on the miniaturized hair during transplant triggers the loss of hair that was healthy before transplant.

Temporary shock loss

The most imperative detail to give you a breath of relief is that temporary here elicits temporary and your hair grows back after a while. During transplantation, once the graft is put onto the recipient's scalp it causes harm to the surrounding native inhabitants causing them to drop-off. But the hair has grown back in time.

In a case of the donor when the hair has been punched out there is too much stress on wound closure owing which the nearby strand fall prey. This is different from telogen effluvium where there is diffuse fleeting hair loss due to stress, chemicals, poor diet or hormones.

Permanent shock loss

This basically occurs when the hair that has been harmed during the process of transplantation were actually suffering from the impact of hormone dihydrotestosterone which would have any way led to their loss, transplantation or no transplantation. The process of transplantation just supplemented to it and enhanced the rate of fall.

Telogen effluvium is different from shock loss in numerous ways, few of which being the loss in telogen is transient while the shock loss varies from temporary to transient. Secondly, telogen effluvium is caused by factors like high fevers, childbirth, severe infections, severe chronic illness, severe psychological stress, major surgery or illnesses, over or underactive thyroid gland, crash diets with inadequate protein, and a variety of medications.

Most hair loss from medications is this type and causes include retinoids, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, antidepressants, and NSAIDs (including ibuprofen). As the hair is lost, new hair from within the scalp grows up to take its place.

How to manage shock loss?

Numerous medications have been prescribed to deal with this issue. These drugs have to be taken before the transplant so as to minimize the hair fall. However, the proficiency of the surgeon is major risk factor here. If the surgeon is licensed and empowered with good skills you need not worry about shock loss. However, it is recommended that you consult the doctor concerned before going for the procedure altogether.